Ocean City Cancels Night in Venice, 4th of July Fireworks

Ocean City has canceled this year's Night in Venice Boat Parade, the night the city bills as their premiere event of the summer.

The Night in Venice, scheduled for Saturday, July 18th, would have been the 66th annual, an event which draws thousands of spectators to watch the boat parade and decorated home contest and many more who attend private parties at homes along the bay.

But this year, with coronavirus infections still a very real concern, that amount of people gathering together was a problem.

Ocean City also canceled their Fourth of July fireworks.

In a letter on Monday, Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said the city just couldn't take the chance.

I met with my senior staff this afternoon, and we decided that the Fourth of July fireworks and Night in Venice will not be held this year.

 

I believe these are important traditions to preserve, and I had hoped that we would be able to plan for safe events.

But with the enormous influx of people we’ve seen over the past few weeks and with the governor still prohibiting mass gatherings and dense crowds, we do not believe it would be responsible to continue with these popular events.

 

The health and safety of everybody who loves Ocean City will always be our top priority.